As is well known, the continued shooting of shotguns and rifles leads to chafing and bruising of the cheek. This is particularly true in trap shooting with shotguns, where several hundred rounds may be fired by a single marksmen in a single day. As a result, the marksmen tends to flinch with each shot, with resultant inaccuracy of marksmanship.
In U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,663,877 and 5,031,348 it has been proposed to associate the substantially stationary firearm shoulder piece of a recoil-absorbing shoulder gun with a stationary comb piece of the shotgun stock assembly. When shooting, the marksman rests his cheek against the comb piece. Since the comb piece remains stationary with the stock, chafing is eliminated.
However, a problem remains. Marksmen have cheek areas of varying proportions and contours. For maximum comfort, and hence for maximum scores, it is important that the comb piece be universally adjustable relative to the stock fore and aft, and laterally and vertically. Otherwise, it is not possible to fit the gun precisely to the needs of the various marksmen who might wish to use it, or of a single owner whose facial contour changes with age.
It accordingly is the general purpose of the present invention to provide a gun stock assembly having a comb piece which is universally adjustable with respect to both elevation and lateral position.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a gun stock assembly which is relatively simple in construction, adaptable for use in conjunction with a variety of shoulder guns, and easy to adjust.
It is another object of the invention to provide a gun stock assembly having a comb piece which may be easily and quickly adjusted in the field and on the shooting line without the use of special tools and which, when adjusted, will not "creep" out of adjustment with continued shooting of the gun.
The foregoing and other objects of my invention are achieved by the provision of a gun stock assembly which, broadly considered, comprises a gun stock having a top and a rear portion and in the rear portion a recess opening rearwardly to the exterior, forming a casing. A support block is mounted in the casing.
Recoil-damping, telescopic mounting means mount a recoil block on the support block, rearwardly thereof. A releasable connection, such as a latch, releasably connects the recoil block to the support block.
An angled support bar having first and second segments is arranged to locate the first segment opposite the rear surface of the stock and the second segment over the top thereof. Mounting means mount the first segment of the bar on the recoil block.
A shoulder pad is attached to the first segment of the bar and a comb piece to its second segment.
Vertical adjustment means engage the second segment of the bar for adjusting the vertical position of the bar, and hence of the comb. The adjustment may be made selectively to either the forward or rearward portion of the bar, or to both portions.
Lateral adjustment means engage the bar for shifting it to the desired degree laterally to the right or left. This, too, may be accomplished selectively with respect to the forward and rearward portions of the bar, and hence of the comb. Alternatively, the entire comb may be shifted as desired to the right to left.
In this manner, the desired universal adjustment of the comb relative to the stock may be obtained.